Abstracts of the History of Science Society 2004 Austin Meeting 18 ...
Abstracts of the History of Science Society 2004 Austin Meeting 18 ...
Abstracts of the History of Science Society 2004 Austin Meeting 18 ...
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Aristotle’s Rejection <strong>of</strong> Resurrection<br />
In <strong>the</strong> De Anima I.3, Aristotle essays a little argument to <strong>the</strong> effect that <strong>the</strong> soul does not set <strong>the</strong> body in motion in virtue <strong>of</strong> its own<br />
motion (406b20-23). For, he maintains, if <strong>the</strong> soul sets <strong>the</strong> body in motion by virtue <strong>of</strong> its own motion, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> soul could undergo<br />
motion in space. However, if <strong>the</strong> soul can undergo motion is space, <strong>the</strong>n it would be possible for it to go out and come back into bodies.<br />
And if <strong>the</strong> soul can go out <strong>of</strong> and return to bodies, <strong>the</strong>n dead animals would be resurrected (anastasthai). But <strong>the</strong> resurrection <strong>of</strong><br />
dead animals is an absurd consequence. The soul, <strong>the</strong>refore, does not set <strong>the</strong> body in motion in virtue <strong>of</strong> its own motion. Whatever <strong>the</strong><br />
merits <strong>of</strong> this argument,I aim to understand why resurrection would have seemed absurd to Aristotle (at <strong>the</strong> time <strong>of</strong> his writing <strong>the</strong> De<br />
Anima). Is <strong>the</strong> claim grounded by empirical or conceptual means? Is this a datum <strong>of</strong> experience, or a decucible consequence, given <strong>the</strong><br />
essential nature <strong>of</strong> matter? Aristotle, I argue, seems to have recourse to both approaches.<br />
Cynthia Klestinec, Georgia Institute <strong>of</strong> Technology (cynthia.klestinec@lcc.gatech.edu)<br />
Friday, 19-Nov-04, 1:30 - 3:10 PM - Texas Ballroom VII<br />
Fabricius and <strong>the</strong> Dramatic Rhetoric <strong>of</strong> Anatomical Inquiry<br />
Working in Padua and Venice, Fabricius <strong>of</strong> Aquapendente published <strong>the</strong> results <strong>of</strong> his anatomical research in <strong>the</strong> early 17th century. As<br />
Andrew Cunningham has shown, Fabricius drew both his methodology and his topics <strong>of</strong> research from Aristotle’s biological works, pursuing<br />
an Aristotelian project <strong>of</strong> anatomy. This paper will extend Cunningham’s analysis by showing that Fabricius drew not only from<br />
Aristotle’s biological works, but also from Aristotle’s Poetics and <strong>the</strong> numerous commentaries on <strong>the</strong> Poetics that circulated in <strong>the</strong> Veneto<br />
region in <strong>the</strong> later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This body <strong>of</strong> works brought education and pleasure to <strong>the</strong> fore, influencing<br />
Fabricius’s textual and oral presentations. This paper will provide an account <strong>of</strong> Fabricius’ dramatic rhetoric—his use <strong>of</strong> ‘beginning,<br />
middle and end’ to organize and develop anatomical process—as well as an alternative history <strong>of</strong> wonder. This paper will consider <strong>the</strong><br />
possibility that wonder and its cognates (surprise, admiration) derive not only from various philosophical traditions (as Katharine Park<br />
and Lorraine Daston have explained), but also from a dramatic tradition that had recently been energized by <strong>the</strong> publication and translation<br />
<strong>of</strong> Aristotle’s Poetics.<br />
Robert E. Kohler, University <strong>of</strong> Pennsylvania (rkohler@sas.upenn.edu)<br />
Saturday, 20-Nov-04, 3:30 - 5:30 PM - Texas Ballroom VI<br />
American Museums and Natural <strong>History</strong> Collecting<br />
The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a period <strong>of</strong> large-scale biological survey and collecting <strong>of</strong> animal and plant species, especially<br />
by large civic museums. Hundreds or thousands <strong>of</strong> expeditions were dispatched. Unlike earlier natural-history collecting, expeditionary<br />
collecting was designed to be complete and comprehensive — natural history made into an exact science <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> field. Initially,<br />
museums undertook collecting expeditions less for science per se than to qcquire material for <strong>the</strong>ir new and immensely popular habitat<br />
dioramas. Expeditions served both science and <strong>the</strong> cultural consumption. Curators became field workers and led expeditions, but<br />
depended for funding and logistics on diverse local and lay participants.<br />
S<strong>of</strong>ie Lachapelle, Max Planck Institute for <strong>the</strong> <strong>History</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Science</strong> (lachapelle@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de)<br />
Saturday, 20-Nov-04, 1:30 - 3:10 PM - Texas Ballroom VII<br />
The Prophylaxis and Treatment <strong>of</strong> Endemic Cretinism by Nineteenth-Century Alienists<br />
Cretinism is understood today as a condition in which a lack in thyroid hormone (caused by a congenital defect, diseased thyroid, or lack<br />
<strong>of</strong> iodine) results in mental retardation and serious problems associated with physical development (dwarfism and thick, flabby skin <strong>of</strong><br />
a yellowish color). Cretinism is found in its endemic form in mountainous regions and valleys, where endemic goiter is severe. The<br />
condition has been recognized for centuries in <strong>the</strong> Alpine villages <strong>of</strong> today’s Switzerland, but it is in <strong>the</strong> seventeenth century that it began<br />
to be more seriously considered. Interest in natural history and curiosities led to a number <strong>of</strong> traveling accounts in which cretins were<br />
mentioned. During <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century, more methodical surveys <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> various regions where cretinism was prevalent were performed.<br />
The condition and <strong>the</strong> particular environmental settings in which it occurs became better known. The causes <strong>of</strong> cretinism were<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten seen in climatic factors (<strong>the</strong> stagnation <strong>of</strong> a corrupted air, heat, atmospheric humidity), geological formations, unknown toxic<br />
agents in drinking water or food, dirt, or wretched conditions. Preventive measures, sometimes contradictory, were proposed to reduce<br />
<strong>the</strong> occurrence <strong>of</strong> cretinism (prolonged exposure to <strong>the</strong> sun, shading, drainage, cleaning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> village, relocation, segregation in sanatoriums<br />
or asylums, and iodine intake). As <strong>the</strong> construction <strong>of</strong> new roads, <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> a railway system, and improvements<br />
in <strong>the</strong> preservation <strong>of</strong> fish provided <strong>the</strong> inland with marine products, <strong>the</strong> incidence <strong>of</strong> endemic cretinism receded. Although <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong><br />
iodine had been recommended throughout <strong>the</strong> previous century, it is not until <strong>the</strong> beginning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> twentieth century that <strong>the</strong> iodinedeficiency<br />
hypo<strong>the</strong>sis was accepted as causal to both goiter and cretinism. This paper will look at <strong>the</strong> preventive measures and <strong>the</strong> treatments<br />
for cretinism promoted by a particular group, <strong>the</strong> alienists, in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> nineteenth-century public health innovations.<br />
Larry Lagerstrom, University <strong>of</strong> California, Davis (lagerstrom@ucdavis.edu)<br />
Saturday, 20-Nov-04, 9:00 - 11:45 AM - Texas Ballroom VI<br />
Applied <strong>History</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Science</strong>: The Case <strong>of</strong> Creation and Evolution<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 1986 HSS Distinguished Lecture, John Heilbron put forth a manifesto for applying <strong>the</strong> history <strong>of</strong> science to general education,